Colin Farrell has been offered the lead role in the Total Recall remake, it has been reported.

The Irish star is in talks with Sony to step into Arnold Schwarzenegger's shoes to play a man tortured by recurring dreams of a trip to Mars, said Variety.

The reboot of the original 1990 sci-fi film will be directed by Underworld's Len Wiseman from a script by Kurt Wimmer, and is expected to be an update of author Philip K Dick's story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.

Inception actor Tom Hardy and Inglourious Basterds' Michael Fassbender were also considered for the role.

Colin, who next stars in London Boulevard alongside Keira Knightley, previously appeared in Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, based on Philip K Dick's tale of the same name.

The original Total Recall, which starred a pre-Terminator 2 Arnie with Sharon Stone, was a critical and box office success, and won a Special Achievement Oscar for its visual effects.